Jump to Navigation

Nashville DUI/DWI Law Blog

Nashville felony DUI: What's the right response to the issue?

On behalf of Rob McKinney, Attorney at Law posted in Felony DUI on Wednesday, May 15, 2013.

Just as no two human beings are the same, no two criminal cases are the same. That's one reason why creating a one-size-fits-all solution or penalty under the law isn't always the best approach to take.

That's perhaps one reason why in Nashville and other jurisdictions in Tennessee, the judges who are responsible for meting out penalties for convictions of driving under the influence, whether it's for a misdemeanor offense or a felony DUI resulting from four convictions or more, are granted a certain amount of latitude.

DUI arrest lesson 1: Don't forget right to remain silent

On behalf of Rob McKinney, Attorney at Law posted in Field Sobriety Tests on Friday, May 10, 2013.

We enjoy a lot of freedoms in Tennessee. Our basic rights are enshrined in the constitutions of both the state and the United States. One of the most fundamental rights is that a person is innocent of any criminal charge until proven guilty.

That goes for any crime, including something as seemingly mundane as drunk driving charges. And it may be particularly important to remember if a person is facing DUI charges and they have one or more convictions for DUI already on their record.

Tennessee's drunk driving 'shaming law' value questioned

On behalf of Rob McKinney, Attorney at Law posted in Drunk Driving Charges on Friday, May 3, 2013.

"The Scarlet Letter" is a classic bit of American prose. It was written by Nathaniel Hawthorne in 1850 and tells the story of a Puritan-era mother who is punished by her neighbors to wear a scarlet letter "A" on her dress as a shaming device for having conceived a child by a man other than her husband.

The novel used to be a staple of the educational curriculum in much of the country. We don't know if it is anymore. If it isn't, it's probably because the social conventions that made it once so powerful aren't quite as strong today as they were 150 years ago.

The notion of public shaming has not lost its proponents as a general concept, though. For the past eight years in Tennessee it's been a staple of punishment meted out to first-time drunk driving offenders. 

3 Doors Down bassist facing Tennessee vehicular homicide charges

On behalf of Rob McKinney, Attorney at Law posted in Vehicular Assault or Homicide on Thursday, April 25, 2013.

Among the news items getting a lot of attention around Nashville in the past few days has been the arrest of 3 Doors Down bassist Robert Todd Harrell. The musician was booked last weekend in connection with a fatal vehicle accident that occurred late Friday on Interstate 40. He's now free on bond and at last word had voluntarily entered a treatment facility.

Police records show that the 41-year-old musician was taken into custody late Friday after the accident on Interstate 40. Officials allege that he was driving while impaired, at high speed, when his car clipped a pickup truck. They say the truck left the road and its driver, a 47-year-old man, was killed in the crash.

Supreme Court rejects warrantless blood test of DUI suspect

On behalf of Rob McKinney, Attorney at Law posted in Blood Alcohol Tests on Friday, April 19, 2013.

U.S. law guarantees the right of the individual to be free from warrantless searches and seizures by police. Over the course of more than 200 years, the boundaries of that tenet have been tested, leading courts in Tennessee and at the federal level to weigh in on the issue.

One of the latest cases to get this particular examination dealt with the question of when police can conduct a warrantless draw of blood to test the blood alcohol content of a drunk driving suspect. And a ruling that came down this week from the U.S. Supreme Court appears to put some additional restrictions on authorities.

7th DUI charge gets man held on $1M bond

On behalf of Rob McKinney, Attorney at Law posted in Felony DUI on Thursday, April 11, 2013.

The law in Tennessee aimed at countering driving under the influence can result in harsh penalties. That should come as no great shock to readers. Multiple convictions for DUI tend to compound the penalties.

A second DUI conviction can mean the loss of your vehicle. It can also mean jail time. Typically, individuals arrested and charged with suspected drunk driving or driving while impaired may be required to post a bond in order to gain their release from incarceration until their court date. But rarely are they as steep as was imposed recently by a court in another state.

Nashville officer's DUI case accents value of legal counsel

On behalf of Rob McKinney, Attorney at Law posted in Blood Alcohol Tests on Friday, April 5, 2013.

Lawmakers and law enforcement officials in Tennessee and the rest of the United States face a particularly tough challenge when it comes to addressing the negative consequences that can result when individuals get drunk. The Prohibition era represents one example of how hard it can be to balance social order and individual rights.

The country tried to ban alcohol with a constitutional amendment and then repealed the change about 14 years later when it became clear it wasn't working. In more recent years, the legal countermeasures have become more focused on specific behaviors through statutes criminalizing driving under the influence or driving while impaired.

Police power in DUI arrests tested before TN Supreme Court

On behalf of Rob McKinney, Attorney at Law posted in Drunk Driving Charges on Wednesday, March 27, 2013.

Three Tennessee courts have already agreed that a suspect shouldn't have been arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence in 2009. Now, the state Supreme Court will have a chance to weigh in.

The high court recently agreed to hear arguments over whether police acted within the scope of their authority when they arrested the suspect in question, even though he had passed six field sobriety tests. The court's eventual decision could provide some clear guidance on how far police can depend on field sobriety tests when little or no other evidence of drunk driving is present.

Tennessee Titan star acquitted of DUI charges

On behalf of Rob McKinney, Attorney at Law posted in Field Sobriety Tests on Wednesday, March 20, 2013.

Driving under the influence charges are not something one wants to take lightly. The repercussions from just the accusation can be severe. If a conviction is obtained, the effects can be life changing. If the defendant happens to be a high-profile individual, the media is sure to make any hay it can of the situation. All these elements reinforce the wisdom that it's important to contact an attorney when DUI charges are pending.

The help of an attorney was definitely in evidence in the case of Tennessee Titans wide receiver Kenny Britt. He had been facing federal charges of driving under the influence, but today a U.S. magistrate found Britt not guilty of DUI. He was found guilty of refusing to take a breath test and violating Kentucky's implied consent law, but no penalty was issued for that.

2 years solitary without trial for DWI prompts $15M damage award

On behalf of Rob McKinney, Attorney at Law posted in Drunk Driving Charges on Thursday, March 14, 2013.

The filing of charges of driving under the influence or driving while impaired seem to becoming so common in Tennessee that they almost seem to warrant little attention. But as we have often said, such accusations are not trivial and deserve to be handled with as much resolve as any criminal case to achieve the best possible outcome for the person accused.

The value of having adequate legal representation extends beyond the presentation of a solid case before the court. It also offers a level of security against the kind of thing that happened to one man. His case played out in another state, but it could just as well have occurred in Tennessee.